Chapter 9: The Morning After
Sandra Okafor stayed for two hours.
She went through every corner of the basement.
She looked at the food supplies, the medicine box, the first aid kit, the homework sheets on the wall.
She spoke to each child individually, in a quiet voice, in the corner near the door.
She asked them simple questions.
She wrote things down.
When she was done, she came and stood with Victor and me at the table.
"The environment is not ideal," she said.
"A basement is not a long-term solution."
"I have a property on the north side," Victor said.
"It will be ready for occupancy within the week.
I'm prepared to bring in whatever staff and certifications the department requires."
"I'll need to inspect it before any children are moved."
"Of course."
She looked at her notes.
"The children are healthy.
They are clearly attached to Miss Hart.
Their routines are consistent and their emotional states are stable given the circumstances." She paused.
"I'm going to recommend approval of the emergency guardianship application.
With conditions."
I let out a breath.
"The conditions," she said, looking at me directly, "include that Miss Hart remains part of the household.
Not as a caregiver of record — she is still a minor — but as a consistent presence.
These children have had too much disruption.
Removing her would cause harm."
"She stays," Victor said immediately.
"That was never in question."
Sandra looked at him for a moment.
"Mr.
Moretti.
I want to ask you something directly."
"Go ahead."
"Why are you doing this?"
Victor was quiet for a moment.
"Because Elena asked me to find them," he said.
"And because when I got here, I found a thirteen-year-old girl who had already been doing what I should have done a year ago." He paused.
"And because some things, once you see them, you can't walk away from."
Sandra wrote something.
"The test results," she said carefully, not looking up.
"Regarding the youngest child."
Victor said nothing.
"I'm not asking officially," she said.
"I'm asking as someone who has been in this work for twenty-two years and can read a room." She looked up.
"Does it matter to you?
What the result shows?"
Victor looked at Noah, who was across the room teaching Mia how to stack the blocks in a specific order that only made sense to him.
"No," Victor said.
"It doesn't."
Sandra closed her folder.
"I'll be in touch with Marcus Webb about the property inspection," she said.
She shook Victor's hand.
Then she turned to me and shook mine.
"You did something remarkable," she said quietly.
"I want you to know that."
She went up the stairs.
The basement door closed softly behind her.
I stood there for a moment.
Then Mia came running across the room and wrapped both arms around my waist and held on.
"Are we okay?" she asked into my side.
I put my arms around her.
"Yeah," I said.
"We're okay."
The twins appeared, then Lucas, then Daniel, then Noah toddling behind them all with his wooden block still in one hand.
They came and stood close, the way they always did when something had been frightening and was now, somehow, over.
Victor stood a little apart, watching.
I looked at him over the top of Mia's head.
May you like
He was still holding the wooden block Noah had given him.
He hadn't put it down.
